The speaker in this poem is the eponymous mother. The mother addresses the poem to her son and offers him advice as to how to live his life, based on her own life experiences. She tells her son that her life "ain't been no crystal stair" and that sometimes her life has been "dark" and "Bare." The mother uses the extended metaphor of a staircase, leading to "landin's" and "corners," to describe the journey that she has had to navigate in her own life. She says that there have been "splinters" in the floors, and she implies that there have been many steps to climb. This extended metaphor implies that the mother has had a difficult, arduous life, beset with obstacles and difficulties.

In the second half of the poem, the mother offers her son advice, and from that advice we can infer how she has responded to her own life experiences. Addressing her son directly, she says that, no matter how dark or difficult your life becomes, "don't you turn back." This implies that she has responded to her own life experiences with perseverance. The mother also tells her son not to "set down on the steps." The implication here is that he should not give up or rest for too long—he should keep going, as, implicitly, she has done herself. At the end of the poem, the mother tells the son that he is not to "fall," because she is "still goin'" and "still climbin'." This emphasizes the impression that she has responded to her own life experiences with unfailing perseverance and determination.